The Shellers

“The Shellers” painting by Alton R. Lowe

When I was a young boy on Green Turtle Cay, my friends and I would frequently walk to Gillam bay to look for shells. In those days, there were plenty of nice shells, big and small. The girls would take the prettiest shells and make necklaces and bracelets, which they could sell to tourists, and the boys would sell them to Bahamians in the shell exporting business. Money wasn’t much, but it was fun, finding something unexpected, which might bring a little money.

In this painting, the girls are on the beach. One has found a triton shell and is listening to the roar of the sea. Another is picking up a full grown live conch. While the blonde girl is enjoying the sea air and a quiet time with her friends. For me, knowing these girls are descended from the Loyalists from Hopetown, and also from the first settlers of Green Turtle Cay, who came from Harbour Island makes the painting even more interesting. Generations of children from Lowes, Currys, Pinders, Russells, Bethels, Sawyers, Roberts, and Saunders walked these beaches. And still do. - Alton